


No Accounting For Taste

by Manic_Pixie_Dream_Goblin



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-14
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2019-03-04 20:00:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13372026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Manic_Pixie_Dream_Goblin/pseuds/Manic_Pixie_Dream_Goblin
Summary: A struggling shopkeeper is visited by a colorful customer.





	No Accounting For Taste

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this piece to explore a character I made for a campaign. Includes a gratuitous description of him for funsies.

As soon as she heard the bell chime, Leni leapt from her chair and came running. A smile already pulled taught at her lips as she pushed through the curtains, and her eyes immediately began searching the store for her visitor. In the dim light, she almost missed the massive shape standing in the doorway. Mostly because it stood as still as a statue – sort of looked like one, too. All dark stone and wood, with a trimming of gold around a few edges. The tall, broad shape stared back at her with eyes of white, and her smile slowly faded as she blinked in confusion. 

In her twenty-something years, Leni could count the amount of warforged she met on one hand. One finger, actually. And “met” was sort of a strong word, for that matter. It had been the servant of a wandering merchant, carrying a massive barrel of goods on its back as it trudged down the street. She was a child at the time, and when she waved, it only fixed her with a quizzical look before continuing on its path.

And now, fifteen years later, another stood in her doorway. Blocking it, more accurately. Leni couldn’t gauge any emotion on its mostly featureless face, and it certainly wasn’t offering up any sort of expression. She was about to speak up, when she saw movement in the corner of her eye. 

Startled, she turned her head, only to catch a glimpse of horns bobbing up and down behind one of her shelves. They must have belonged to the owner of the warforged, she figured, but she was more focused on the fact that she had a customer. And if they had their own servant, then they must have been rich. 

Smiling anew, Leni stepped around the counter and hurried to the aisle with half a sales pitch already in her head. Though she forgot it the moment she laid her eyes on the customer. 

He stood nearly as tall as his warforged, though with a more slender frame and far more color to him. A wine-red, double-breasted tailcoat on his shoulders, cream-colored pants, black leather boots that came to the thigh, with short wedges that made him even taller. His right index and middle finger were adorned in golden, full-finger rings that ended in sharp points, and every other digit was adorned in shiny bands that matched. The stranger had four horns, with the upper two sweeping back over a long mane of black hair, and the lower curling downward from behind large, pointed ears. Dark, eyeliner flared out in sharp wings from the corners of his golden-yellow eyes, and a matching color coated his full lips. He had sharp, pretty features, light brown skin with a reddish undertone, and a dusting of dark freckles across his cheeks. 

Leni stared for a few solid seconds, until the stranger turned away from the jar of preserved drake tongue to look at her, instead. A smile curled at the corners of his mouth, lips parting to reveal pearly white fangs. 

“Good afternoon, darling,” he said in a voice so smooth that it immediately put her on edge. Granted, having a tiefling in her store – let alone one dressed so flashy had already done a fine job at putting her on edge. But the cloyingly sweet tone certainly didn’t help.

She _really_ needed money, though.

“Afternoon,” Leni greeted through a forced grin. “Looking for potion ingredients?” 

The tiefling shrugged, hands clasping behind himself as he turned to face her completely. His smile didn’t falter in the slightest.

“I can always find a use for drake tongue,” he hummed, “But no, actually I believe we have some business to sort out.” 

He took two steps towards her, which was enough to break her smile and make her heart start pounding even harder. Suddenly, Leni was far more aware of the fact that her one and only exit was blocked completely.  
“What sort of business, if I may ask?” she chuckled nervously.

“Oh, well, I suppose _we_ don’t have business,” he gestured at the two of them, “As much as _you_ have business with _my_ associate.”

Leni blinked at him, her brow furrowed and her eyes briefly flickering to the jar of flashpowder on the shelf next to her. If it came to it, she was prepared to hurl it at his stupid, pretty face and throw herself out of the window. Maybe if she was lucky, that warforged wouldn’t catch her.

“Mm, you don’t remember.” 

The tiefling took a deep breath, his smile finally fading. A little. 

“You’re late on your payments, Leni. Three weeks late...” 

Leni’s heart skipped a beat, and her eyes went wide. She wasn’t thinking about the colorful man in front of her anymore – in fact she was hoping he would just kill her now. It would be better than whatever the Boss would do to her. 

“…That’s long enough to make a man start wondering if he’s been forgotten. And we both know my associate isn’t the type of man who likes being forgotten.” 

“Please,” Leni said, dropping to her knees and clasping her hands together, “I’m sorry! I… I can get the money, I just need a little more time! Business has been slow and… And…” 

“Well no wonder it’s been slow, when was the last time you dusted these shelves?” he asked, running his finger along a display and flashing a dramatically disgusted face. “For that matter, you don’t even have a sign out front, darling. And I’ve never seen you advertising in the market. How are people supposed to know Leni’s House of Oddities even exists, hm?” 

She could only stare at him, a little offended, but mostly just confused. After a moment, the tiefling sighed and shook his head.

“How much gold do you have on you right now?” he asked.

“Forty-three pieces,” Leni mumbled, eyes cast low and cheeks burning with shame. It had been a bad month. A bad year, really. 

“And how much is that drake’s tongue?” 

Eyebrow cocking, she looked up from the floor and up at his face, only to find him eying the jar in question.

“…Twenty pieces?” she said.

Wordlessly, the tiefling plucked the jar from the shelf. 

“Rook, catch,” he said, and under-handedly tossed it over the displays. 

For the first time since their appearance, the warforged moved, catching the jar in its hands with a surprising amount of fluidity in its movements. Without even looking to watch, the tiefling faced Leni once again, one hand reaching into his jacket to produce a small, cloth pouch. He tossed it at her, and she scrambled to catch it. Coin jingled inside.

“That’s thirty,” he said, “Use it to buy a few pamphlets or something, and get out in the market this weekend to advertise. Wear something nicer than… That.” 

Leni eyed the coin with her jaw slack and her mind completely unable to wrap around what she was hearing. After a few seconds, she looked up.

“I…. What?” 

“I’ll be back in a week, darling, and if you don’t have the coin then,” he trailed off, lifting his right hand. With a snap of his fingers, a small, bright flame ignited on the tip of his golden talons. “Well, things might get a little… _Heated.”_

He grinned, one eyebrow cocking as if he expected her to laugh at his joke. Of course, she only gawked at him, and after a moment he rolled his eyes, lifted his free hand, and flicked his wrist. A spectral hand made out of crimson arcane energy flickered into existence, long enough for the tiefling to high-five it.

“No accounting for taste,” he said, dropping his hands and ceasing both spells. 

Without another word, he turned on his heel and strut down the aisle. As he stepped around the corner, the warforged opened the door with one hand, holding it open for him.

“See you in a week, darling. Don’t disappoint!” 

Leni watched as he and his warforged disappeared through the door. The bell chimed again as it closed, and she was left on her knees, cradling a bag of coin in her small hands.

When her mind caught up with everything that had just happened, Leni shot to her feet and bolted into the backroom to start drawing up pamphlets.


End file.
